GAIJIN STUDIOS, a home for some of the biggest and most talented names in the comics world for more than a decade-and-a-half, proudly announces the newest addition to its ranks: Tony Shasteen, artist of 12 Gauge/Image’s O.C.T: Occult Crimes Taskforce.

“Tony’s somebody with unlimited potential as a Gaijinner,” said Cully Hamner, speaking via satellite from an editorially-mandated deep submersible somewhere in the Atlantic, where he’s working on his next project. “He’s talented, professional, and just a really good guy. We intend to change all that.”

Brian Stelfreeze, reached by text-message on his iPhone from his private cell at Gitmo, had this to say: “Tony brings much to the table– skill, talent, and a brackishness that allows him to swim in both the comics and commercial art streams. And he’s quite handsome in a sexually non-threatening sort of way.”

“Who?” Karl Story added, before capturing the IBM computer Big Blue’s queen in a chess tournament death-match in Prague, while simultaneously inking three books. “I’m really happy to be here at the famed Gaijin Studios in Atlanta,” commented Shasteen. “I’m hopeful that, at some point, the other guys will show up.”

Shasteen made his first mark as the artist of the 12 Gauge Comics limited series O.C.T: Occult Crimes Taskforce, featuring actress Rosario Dawson, and written by David Atchison and Dawson. A feature film version starring Dawson is currently in the works with Dimension Films.

Atlanta’s GAIJIN STUDIOS is a longtime staple of the comic book industry, having been in continuous operation since 1991. It’s currently the creative home of Brian Stelfreeze, Karl Story, Cully Hamner, and Tony Shasteen, but it has a long list of impressive past alumni: Adam Hughes, Dave Johnson, Jason Pearson, Tony Harris, Georges Jeanty, Jason Martin, Joe Phillips, Rick Mays, Kelsey Shannon, and Stine Walsh. It continues to be a popular creative force in the comic book industry, working for most of the major comic book publishers, with occasional forays into other media.